#1 and Violette took part!

The Chans!

The Beebs!

We took part and won medals!!

The Beebs!!!

Who are we?

First, in June 2008, came a young sorrel Abyssinian cat called Sen-Chan and a slightly younger English Springer Spaniel called Tom. In October 2008, they were joined by Tama-Chan, a ruddy Abyssinian girl kitten. The three lived so happily together, playing and cuddling in the French countryside with their mistress, known as #1. But in early January 2009, tragedy struck and Sen-Chan went to the Bridge at not yet 18 months. For a while, it was just Tom and Tama-Chan and #1, remembering sweet and gentle Sen-Chan, and the one who came before him, the fierce and noble Ikkyu. But then, in April 2009, a little red furrball, Sei-Chan, joined the family! She was followed in October 2009 by Yuu-Chan, a playful but very mellow little sorrel boy. And then Tama-Chan had kittens and little Bibi, a ruddy male, stayed with us. Sadly, we lost our beloved Yuu-Chan in September 2010, but we soldier on and live and love in our little corner of rural France. And we now have a big little brother in Vidock, a Percheron stallion, a little little brother in Genji, a blue Abyssinian, and a big little sister in Violette, a Percheron mare.

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Thursday, 30 April 2015

#1 here. I am down to my last few days in Tokyo and making the best of this amazing city. I thought that, today, I would share with you some of the cat imagery I came across on my wanderings yesterday:

Kitty Kite!

Tenugui decorative hand towel:

Perhaps my favoutite: The Riding Kitty!

Little kitty bells!

Oh, and I couldn't resist picking up a few more items for Tommy and The Chans:

Given that I have to go away again next Friday , through the weekend, and then almost all of June, I have few illusions about being truly forgiven for a while, but I am trying...

Oh, one more thing: do you remember the little Japanese Kiso-Uma mare I took for a walk when I was in the north of Japan? She was expecting and I just heard this morning that se had a little girl!

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Tama-Chan: This is the last Tuesday before #1 comes back to us. Woo HOOOOOOO! Apparently, she continues to have a good time, and she has remained serious in her pursuits. Here is yesterday's shopping stash:

She bought us the castle tent!!! And look at that cute huggie toy on the right! She even found a ball for Tommy, and right at the front is some matatabi (silvervine) and more treats. Good going, #1!

And apparently, in Japan, they sell brand-new boxes just for cats!

#1 will be coming back in a few days, so I have already started working on looking my best for her return!

Monday, 27 April 2015

Da Beebs: #1 is back in Tokyo after her week of travelling in the north of Japan. I am happy to report that the first thing she did on her return was to visit the pet store she used to shop at when when she lived there:

She said it has lots and lots of interesting stuff, so she did some shopping for us! Look at this:

We have been examining this photo very closely We can see that there are some wand toys, including one that looks like a Japanese version of Cat Dancer. There are some collars, including matching red and blue bow ties for me and Da Genj in a Japanese pattern! There is some freeze-dried chicken, some dried little fishies, and some powdered chicken breast mixed with silvervine to sprinkle over photo. It looks like a pretty good selection. You did well, #1!

In case you were wondering, she did also pick up some treats for Tommy (the toys tend to be too small as most of the dogs here tend to be little guys):

The stuff on the left is dried chicken breast and the packages in the middle on the right are fish treats, because Tommy loves fish more than anything!

Sunday, 26 April 2015

Tama-Chan: I am not at all sure I want to be associated with this, but I always host the Sunday post and I like to fulfill my commitments. Here is the thing: #1 has been cheating on the Vs left, right, and centre over the past few days. Oh, and she also cheated on Tommy, so shall we start there?

You remember Popeye, the cute Border Collie?

As for the horses, well, look at the evidence...

First off, here she is with one Koto-Hime. She is a "kiso-uma", a very rare native Japanese breed:

This one is a Breton Draft horse:

Oh, and just look at these two...

And them, there was this week-old Percheron baby:

Could it get any worse when she got to the Ban-Ei racetrack in Hokkaido? Yes, it could!

Saturday, 25 April 2015

Sei-Chan: I am calling it SEIturday because it is, after all, my very own day, but I am not sure what I can dig up in terms of photos this time around, as #1's supply of photos is beginning to thin out.

As the weather has been nice, I have been spending some time out in the run:

But I mostly dream about #1 coming back to us...

Do I hear a sound? Do you think she's on her way?

Tama-Chan tells me there is one more week to go. I wish we were already at next week...

Friday, 24 April 2015

Da Beebs: We are a little late in posting today because our globe-trotting scribe forgot her MacBook charger at the hotel in Sapporo yesterday and had to wait for it to be delivered to her current hotel this morning. Service in Japan is very efficient!

Shall we start with new photos of me and my Mama Tama?

Here is Sei-Chan doing a spot of supervising:

And Da Genj in our hammick:

As for #1's Japan photo of the day contribution, here is a handsome kitty she met today. He works at a heavy horse racing stable in Hokkaido, Japan, and his name is Mac:

Thursday, 23 April 2015

Genji: We heard from #1 yesterday that the big project she has been working on for months and that was really stressing her out, has now received the necessary support! She has arranged to bring Japan's biggest draft horse festival to France this summer. This is a first in Europe, and it will all be very exciting. Violette has already been designated lead horse in the procession of horses decked out in amazing finery. Apparently, #1 was already starting to practice in Japan yesterday:

Whilst driving around the city of Morioka, she came across this rather inviting place called "The Cat House" but, sadly, it was closed:

You will of course be wanting to see a photo of me, won't you? Here is a rather fetching one in which you can admire the exceptional colour of my tummy furs:

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

Violette: Pretty Neighs, Everyone. Here is a nice portrait of me before I hand things over to the Big V who is more knowledgeable than I am on the "Japan" topic of the day:

Vidock: Studly Neighs, EveryFriend! You will of course remember that I am turning into the ultimate logging horse:

Well, this week, #1 has gone up to the very north of Japan where she has spent some time logging with a Japanese friend of hers and his horse, Samurai King. The fun thing is that this guy, Takashi Iwama, is coming to France in August to do demonstrations of Japanese-style logging, and I will be his logging horse when he is here! Here are some shots of him with Samurai King in the cedar forests of Northern Japan:

I am really looking forward to meeting him and showing him what I can do!